Martin McDonagh, from theatre to film

In The New York Times, Sylvaine Gold talks to playwright Martin McDonagh about In Bruges, the feature film he has written and directed.

“In Bruges,” which opens [in America] Feb. 8, was not supposed to be Mr. McDonagh’s first feature. He had been writing screenplays along with his plays, though he found them much more difficult. “You can write eight scenes, and that’s a play,” he said. “Eight scenes can be the first half-page in a film.” He found “the jigsawlike” elements of screenwriting — “the idea that you can jump back in time, space, and come back” — unnerving. Still, he said, he kept at it, and “each one was getting a little better.”

In Bruges trailer